Thinking Of You
by crazytomboy78
Summary: Pepper's got only one boy on her mind: her own best friend. But what will become of the three as Tony is taken over by a new and powerful threat? Slight OOC-ness.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! I just got this idea while watching a music video…don't know what kind of a story to put it into so it might just be a one shot! Teeheeeee (X**

Pepper paced her room frantically. It was an easy question, so why couldn't she answer it easily? _Do I like him or do I not like him? _She asked herself. She thought of past times they shared together. She thought of all the good times they had. Was it really just a laughter that two friends shared, or was it going deeper? Were they just friends, or was it getting deeper still? It had started out as an 'you're higher class than I am and you're rich, but now that I have the chance I really want to meet you' thing, but once she'd met him for real, it became more of a 'we're really good friends, but I deny the fact that deep down we're something more' thing. But now….now it's a 'we've been friends for a while now, and I'm starting to ponder the idea of becoming something more, and I can't make up my mind; it could ruin our friendship' type thing.

"No, no. No way will I take that step! Who am I kidding? I don't like him, I don't. I mean, I'm so not ready for this!" Pepper told herself; out loud.

"But, then again….let's say I **do **like him. Then I'd say….i've never felt this way before…" Pepper trailed off, her voice fading as she read the words to herself. The words that seemed so distant, yet so close to her mind. _I do love him. _What if she admitted it? What if she really does? What would happen? Bad things, or good things? Pepper felt a pang wash over her heart. The way she felt right now, the words to explain it, were missing; there wasn't a way to describe how she felt right now. Then it all registered in her head. All the time she spent with him, all those distant sneaking a peak of him, all those feelings she got when she got just a little too close….it all meant one thing. A thing she was so very blind to all this time, but was just realizing right now. All the things she hadn't seen before, they were all there. She just hadn't bothered to walk into her heart until now to see her heart beating crazily for him. It was like she had a craving for him. It's finally all clear now….

"I've got a crush on my best friend!" Pepper exclaimed to herself. It all made sense now. The way his soft touch felt on her skin, and the way she got chills down her spine when his sparkly, ice blue eyes could twinkle into hers, diving deeper and deeper by the second; diving their way into hear heart. She knew he made all the girls swoon for him in a weird and creepy fan-girl way, but the way he made her feel was much, much different than that. It felt more like he was the kind of person she was looking for all along, and they were, in a way, meant to be.

Pepper collapsed on her bed and groaned.

"Unnh…..this is wonderful and terrible at the same time. I like him, but….i've never felt this way before! What if I tell him and…and it goes bad? What if he laughs at me? What if….what if he doesn't feel the same?" Pepper asked herself. She could imagine the worst case-scenario as she drifted to sleep in her bed…..

_Pepper nervously approached Tony at his locker, clutching her books. He waved at her, and she swallowed nervously._

"_Hey Tony! I have, uhh….s-something to t-tell you…" She started._

"_What is it?" He asked innocently._

"_I…sorta, umm…like you." She explained. Tony was silent for a minute, but then broke out in laughter. _

"_Hah! You….liking…me…haha!" He said, in between laughter. Pepper's shoulders dropped and she looked down to her feet, blushing. The whole school joined in Tony's laughter and pointed fingers at the poor redhead. Pepper's eyes filled with tears as Tony looked up and said he'd never, ever feel the same way about her; ever. Pepper pushed past the crowd of laughing kids and ran far from the scene._

"Pepper! Dinner!" Pepper's dad called from downstairs. Pepper jumped up in her bed, awoken from her dad's voice from the scariest dream she'd ever had.

"Gahh!" She yelled as she sat up on her bed. Her face fell.

"That's it…I'm keeping it to myself." Pepper finalized as she walked out of her room and downstairs for dinner.

Pepper's dad noticed his daughter wasn't blabbing about who knows what, like she usually did. Something was definitely wrong if she wasn't talking; and barely eating, at that.

"Pepper, sweetie what's wrong?" He asked his forlorn daughter. She sighed.

"Oh, nothing…just some boy troubles." Pepper explained. Pepper's dad pondered the reason for a moment and decided to try himself.

"Go ahead, try me. What's wrong?" He asked. Pepper put down her fork and looked up.

"Well, I have a close guy friend that I have a teensy little crush on, and i'm afraid he'd laugh at me if I told him how I feel." Pepper explained.

"A crush, huh?"

"Dad! I said it was a teensy little one!" Pepper defended. He raised an eyebrow.

"Ok, fine, it's a big one." Pepper admitted.

"Well, Pepper, you should just tell this boy how you feel." Pepper was impressed at her father's choice of advice. That was more the thing she'd hear from an aunt, or even her mom.

"Really?" Pepper asked. Her father nodded.

"I don't know…"

"Hey, hey, that's ok. I'm not making you do anything; it's all your choice." Pepper's dad raised his hands in the air, in defense. Pepper smiled.

"Thanks dad." Pepper said, getting up from her chair and racing back to her room. She sat on her computer desk chair, staring at her phone; debating whether to text him or not. She shook her head and, just when she was about to put her phone away, it started vibrating. Someone was calling her. She looked at her caller I.D. to see it was Rhodey.

"Hello?" She picked up.

"Pepper, it's Rhodey. There's a major Iron Man emergency right now and we need you here!" Rhodey explained.

"Ok, I'll be right there!" Pepper exclaimed, hanging up her cell and putting it in her bag. She ran out of her room and down the stairs, and past her father; who was still eating his dinner.

"Meeting with friends, gotta go see you later dad!" Pepper shouted into her house as she slammed the front door shut. She ran into the streets of NYC, passing daily commuting businesspeople and others commuting to and from restaurants, plays and night clubs. She ignored all the people around her start to suddenly panic and scream, running for their lives. Then she heard loud crashes and voices.

"Will you just stay still so I can hit you with my mind control beam!?" The villain exclaimed, annoyed.

"You wish!" Iron Man said, shooting the villain with a laser **(A/N: Thing…still don't know what it's called. Cuz I'm pretty sure they're not called repulsors, but then again, not sure.)**, which sent the villain flying back a few feet. The non-threatened villain then shot out a mysterious yellow beam at Iron Man's head. Iron Man fell to the ground, motionless, as his helmet and his human head were suddenly surrounded by a yellow glow.

Pepper stopped in her tracks.

"Oh no. This is bad." She whispered to herself.

Tony, fighting off a sudden overbearing power in his mind, looked over to his right to see a teenage girl, who looked vaguely familiar to him, stand watching him in terror. Then he realized who the girl was. _Pepper. _He had to warn her to run, but he couldn't move. Then his eyes turned a menacing red, and Iron Man was fully under the control of this new threat—calling himself the Dark Shadow.

**Well, I guess it's not going to be a one-shot then. Maybe just a two shot. We'll see! Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Heyyy! Wuddup. So, I was thinking that after I finish this story, and taking over, and my other two stories, (they're in the Misc Books section,) I wanted to do a crossover with IMAA and another show. But, the trouble is, idk which show I want to crossover with! Any suggestions? I wanted to crossover with a show that other people haven't used, and there are only four IMAA crossovers. One story per show….**

"Tony!?" She screamed. He just turned with a menacing smile on his face. But Pepper could see how much the real Tony was fighting back. He was in there somewhere, Pepper knew it. She saw it.

"Tony, I know you're in there somewhere! I can see you fighting in there. Fight harder, Tony! For the people you care about!" She begged.

"Do it for me." She begged once again, with a shy and quiet voice. She could tell the real Tony was still in there, resisting even more.

The Tony on the outside shook his head, making it obvious that the real Tony was fighting back; or in the public's case, the real Iron Man was fighting back, and then he kicked up his boot jets and flew off.

"I have come to serve you, master Dark Shadow." Iron Man explained as he landed in a dark building on the edge of town.

"Tony? Dude, what are you doing?" Rhodey asked, through the armor's com system.

"The Tony you know is gone now." Iron Man answered to the voice coming from his helmet. Rhodey pulled out his phone and dialed Pepper.

"Do you have any idea what just happened?" Rhodey asked as soon as Pepper picked up.

"Yeah, I was downtown when I saw it happen! This is really bad, Rhodey!" She answered.

"Well, get down here as soon as you can!" Rhodey exclaimed, hanging up.

"Oh man, oh man...this is really bad." Rhodey complained to himself as he rested his head in his cupped hands.

Downtown, Pepper was running as fast as her legs could carry her. _I was stupid to think Tony would just go back to normal when I asked him to! Stupid crush for making my heart shatter at the sight of that….._Pepper thought, shaming herself. It really had shattered her heart to see her own best friend, and now, her secret crush, just do such evil like that. She was ready to shed tears down her fair skin.  
As she approached the lab door, she quickly punched in the code and waited for the door to open. Once it did, she rushed inside.

"What's he doing now? Do you know?" She asked. Rhodey shook his head.

"He won't listen to anything I say. And by now, he's ready to shut me out." Rhodey answered. Pepper looked down to her feet, disappointed and scared.

"What if we can't get him back?" She asked, scared. Rhodey noticed the fear and heartbrokenness that showed in her eyes. She truly was scared this time.

"We'll get him back. I promise." He answered.

**(A/N: Just pretend there's a page break here, k?)**

Iron Man stood in the dark, shadowy lair of the Dark Shadow. He listened to all the commands given to him.

"And after the deed is done, return to base. Got all that?" Dark Shadow commanded. Iron Man saluted.

"And remember, my minion. _**Show. No. Mercy.**_" Iron Man saluted once again.

"Good. Now go." Dark Shadow pointed to the door. Iron Man ignored the fact that he could actually use a door, and flew straight through the roof, leaving a big, gaping hole. He flew back into town and landed in the middle of the street. He held up his gloves and prepared to fire. The passing cars suddenly stopped, and soon, all traffic was ceased. Iron Man would not move. Then, he flew over to the Empire State building, aiming his repulsors **(A/N: I'm just gonna call 'em that, k?) **at the central power core to the building. If he fired, the whole building would explode. The citizens screamed in terror. Iron Man let out a menacing evil laugh.

"Now there truly is no one to save you!" Iron Man laughed more.

Deep in the recesses of Tony's mind, the real Tony was there; watching the scene unfold. He still had the little bit of control left, and he had to save this city from himself. _That stupid shadow guy has_ me_ brainwashed! _Tony screamed, only to hear it echo throughout his mind. He was trapped in here, and there was really nothing he could do about it. It did bring back some memories, though. Like the time he was 6, and he made his first robot. And when he first designed the earth movers. And his first words at age 6 months.

Now wasn't the time for a stroll down memory lane, though. The city was in danger from himself. He had to save the city. He could feel Iron Man just about to shoot.

"NO!" He screamed, using the last bit of control he had left to move his arm to a less harmful target. He aimed towards the ground, and it fired a hole right into the sidewalk. He heard one familiar voice beckoning to him, though. It was coming from the crowd….it was….War Machine?

Then, all the sudden, a big bulky silver armor pushed Iron Man to the ground.

"Tony! Dude, you've got to stop this madness! It's me, Rhodey! Your pal, remember?" Rhodey pleaded.

"N-no…you can't stop me!" Iron Man screamed.

"Well, do you remember Pepper? Your _other _best friend? Will you surrender for her?" He asked. Iron Man quieted. Then stopped resisting. The real Tony still didn't have full control, but he had enough left to surrender himself.

He soon started to lose the control, though. As War Machine carried Iron Man away, Iron Man started to resist more and more.

The only reason he surrendered, it seemed, was simply….

Love conquers all. More simply put, not even mind control could make him forget about his dear best friend, Pepper.

Once they got to the lab, Rhodey forced the armor off of Tony. The real Tony was still inside, fighting back.

"I'm going to find a way to get him back to normal. Watch him." Rhodey closed the War Machine mask and flew back out.

Pepper stared at Tony, sitting miserably; watching his eyes glow red. It pained her to see him like this. She walked over to him.

"T-Tony?" She asked. Tony stood and walked closer to her, putting his hand on her cheek. Pepper looked into his eyes. Still glowing red. Then Tony whisked his hand away and mentally slapped himself for letting the real chump owner of this body regain control.

"No. That Tony isn't here anymore." He answered. He then headed for the door.

Before exiting, he turned his head back.

"Don't be such a fool and you won't get hurt." He warned. Pepper rushed to the door and stopped him from exiting.  
"Look, buddy. I know the real Tony is in there somewhere and i'm not letting him go. He may not be able to hear me right now, but that doesn't matter to me. Now stay. Put." Pepper growled, blocking the door with her body. The Tony on the outside stepped back, showing fear but not admitting it.

War Machine stood at the door of an old abandoned shoe factory warehouse. Beyond these doors, he told himself, was where he would get the answers he was looking for. He'd find this Dark Shadow guy, and demand the return to normalcy of his best friend, Iron Man. No matter what it takes.

After swallowing his fear, War Machine busted the doors open and searched for Dark Shadow.

"Dark Shadow, I know you're in here somewhere." Rhodey said, in a voice that sounded courageous and demanding. He heard laughter start to echo through the warehouse.

"If you're here for Iron Man, then forget it. He's under my control now. And after I press this button here, you'll have no way of knowing if your precious Iron Man is back to normal or not." Dark Shadow threatened, stepping into plain sight. In his hand he held a remote with only one big, red button in dead center.

"Then i'm going to have to take that remote from you." Rhodey said, threateningly. He flew over to Dark Shadow and tried, but failed, to whisk the remote from the man's hand.

"Your friend is _mine _now." Dark Shadow smiled menacingly and pushed the button.

Over at the lab, Tony suddenly snapped his back straight and froze. His eyes turned from the bright red they used to be, to the icy crystal blue normal color that they used to be.

"Tony? I-Is that you?" Pepper asked, nervously. Tony remained silent for a moment, then turned to her and smiled. Suddenly, he put his hand to his forehead and imitated being weakened.

"Y-yeah. It's me." He lied. The real Tony still wasn't there. Pepper, buying his act, ran over to him and thrust her arms around his shoulders in a big, huge hug. She sighed in relief and kept holding him.

"Tony, don't scare me like that! I thought you were gone." Pepper said, closing her eyes as she hugged him tighter.

"Yeah, it gave me a bit of a scare too." Still-not-Tony said. He let her hang on as long as she'd wanted to. But his earlier words kept ringing in his ears.

"_Don't be such a fool and you won't get hurt." _Guess she didn't listen then.

In the prison of Tony's brain, the real Tony was pounding at the walls of wherever he was, just a translucent version of himself. He'd seen the whole thing. Pepper was buying this guy's act, and she was only going to get hurt in the future.

"_**NO!**_" He screamed, pounding at the walls harder. He closed his eyes and tried to fight back the tears that were forming.

On the outside, Pepper finally let go and let Tony breathe. Something still didn't feel right, though. It was something in the way her skin felt against his that sent a cold, heartless chill down her spine. And sending it down, not up, gave it an even more negative vibe. She shook the thought off and allowed him to walk her out. This way, pretending to be this guy, he could get out easier.

Pepper still wondered whether she should let him out first. Right at the door to exit the lab, she turned and stopped him.

"Wait a sec, stop." She said. She pulled out her phone and started to dial Rhodey's phone, but was stopped by Tony. She looked up, confused.

"Pepper, Pepper. There's no need to call Rhodey into this. He can figure out later that I'm just fine," He started, putting her phone back in her bag for her.

"Didn't you always want more….**alone time **with me? You know…just, special time to spend together." He smiled deviously. Pepper remained speechless. _**Damn **__him for knowing what I really want…_she mentally slapped herself for letting her heart be sucked in by his alluring idea.

"W-Well, yeah, but…" She started, but was interrupted by his finger on her lips.

"Sshhh. Don't speak, just nod." Tony smiled deviously. It seemed this was the right way to allure her into doing what he says. Pepper moved closer, and Tony took her hand in his. Pepper looked down to her feet, unsure of whether this was right or not. Her heart screamed _YES, YES ITS RIGHT! THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR! _But her brain told her _NO! DON'T DO IT, SOMETHING'S STILL OFF ABOUT HIM! _She didn't know which organ to believe. Instead, she let her gut decide. Tony put his finger under her chin and lifted her head up.

"This is what you want, isn't it?" He asked. She looked to her right and nodded. **(A/N: OMG, even I'M screaming 'NO, PEPPER, DON'T DO IT! Lol, aren't you?) **

Tony inched closer to her slowly, and hesitating only a moment longer, let him land his lips on hers. The passion that she felt….this was really happening, she told herself. This is the moment she's been waiting for ever since they met. There were times when she told herself they were just friends, but right now…

She didn't know what to believe.

The way his skin felt on hers…his felt cold and unforgiving, not warm, soft and welcoming like she'd felt before. Something was definitely wrong.

Inside the brain, the real Tony could still see the whole scene playing out. She saw his body getting closer to Pepper, and then he saw their lips lock.

"NO, NO!" He screamed, pounding at the walls with even more force than before. He felt a burning sense of anger and jealousy wash over him, and following, a whole lot of power. Self-control.

On the outside, the fake Tony felt himself start to weaken as the real Tony gained enough control to send one message to Pepper.

"P-Pepper….call Rhodey...ca-AHHH!" Tony warned, weakly. Then he lost his control. Fake Tony was back in control now.

Pepper whipped out her phone and immediately dialed Rhodey.

"Rhodey, you need to get down here _now._" Pepper demanded.

"What? Why?" Rhodey asked, confused.

"_Because, _it's getting worse!" She explained, hanging up. She dropped her hand to her side and directed her attention back to Tony.

She broke apart and backed away. Backing away, she realized that this still wasn't the real Tony. He was faking it the whole time.

"N-no, you're not the real Tony. He wouldn't have done that; he would've allowed a simple hug and then talk. Not…not what you just did." Pepper said, shaking her head. How stupid she felt.

"Then why did you fall for it?" He asked. She looked down, ashamed of herself.

"Well…because I missed the real Tony so much I just wanted to believe I had him back." She answered. Fake Tony laughed.

"How pathetic, you miss the fool." He laughed more. "Well, let me ask you this," He said, seizing his laughter.

"If you really think you and this pathetic fool have something, why didn't he ever show such affection for you?" He asked. Pepper stopped and thought about it. She felt her earlier fears coming back. She pictured him laughing at her, saying he'd never, ever like her. She felt the fear take over her mind.

"W-well, maybe he does but just hasn't realized it yet." She suggested.

"I strongly doubt it." He answered.

Then Rhodey rushed into the armory and approached the two.

"So, what's going on?" He asked.

**Well, that's chapter two for ya! Guess it's just a regular story now. Oh well! New story. Cooliezz. Review?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Oh man, it has been WAYYY too long. I'm sawwy! I've been busy with marching band starting up, and I went to Boston over the weekend with my class, as a field trip! Way busy dude, way busy! And, for those of you who've read one of my older stories, the one with the same plot, this is my second attempt at the idea. Keww!**

"What's going on is T-I mean, this guy that's in Tony's body, pretended to be the real Tony but really isn't. So don't believe him if he says he's the real Tony!" Pepper explained.

"Are you really going to believe _her_? She's just a crazy girl with crazy, unreal stories to tell." Fake-Tony defended. Rhodey remained silent as he pondered who to believe.

"Pepper, I believe you. The Tony I know wouldn't treat you that way. The Tony I know goes a little deeper than that." Rhodey said. Pepper sighed in relief.

"Well, we need to take action, and fast. I want the real Tony back!" Pepper said.

"You fools will never stop me!" Fake-Tony belted. Ignoring the comment, Pepper and Rhodey pretended his voice wasn't there.

On the outside, Pepper put on a serious face and went to the big computer to research a little on how to reverse the effects, or break free of, mind control. She couldn't find anything effective so far.

On the inside, she ached to hear his sweet, sweet voice again. She ached deeply to be able to stare into his ice blue crystal pools that she got herself lost in at every glance. She knew past this point that there was no further denying it: She loves Tony. With a deep passion that will reach the ends of the earth. She knew that he was her world, and her only sunshine. In her life, Tony was the sun, shining brightly onto her and providing nourishment and hope with every single helpless, innocent smile. She longed to feel his soft touch on her skin once more.

Pepper tried to ignore the feeling, but it kept growing stronger. It made her feel more and more depressed and lonely the more she attempted to ignore it. She felt a single tear roll down her cheek. She kept looking at all the search results she got on 'mind control', but none of it was very useful.

"Pepper, do you have anything?" Rhodey asked. No answer. He looked over to see her looking down at the keyboard, pressing touchpad keys slowly.

"Pepper?" He asked once more. Still nothing. She looked up at him.

"What if there really is nothing we can do? What if we can't get him back?" Pepper asked. Rhodey smiled.

"Pepper, we are. We can do it, and we can win. Trust me, ok?" Rhodey said. Pepper nodded and moved on with business.

"Well, so far there's nothing interesting. Nothing on here can help us." Pepper answered.

Then, all the sudden, fake-Tony, who was seated in defeat near Pepper, stood and walked towards the exit.

"Where do you think you're going?" Asked Pepper. Fake-Tony stopped and looked over his shoulder. Pepper walked over to him and blocked the door.

"I'm leaving, and there's nothing you can do about it." Fake-Tony explained, threateningly.

"Oh yeah? I beg to differ. What could you possibly do to stop me?" Pepper asked.

"You really don't want to find out." Fake-Tony said, half explaining. He rose his hand and pushed Pepper out of his way. Rhodey raced over and put his hand on fake-Tony's shoulder in an effort to keep him in the lab. The effort failed. Fake-Tony pushed Rhodey's hand off his shoulder and walked out. Pepper stood and ran after him, but it was too late. Tony was gone.

Pacing the lab, worried, Pepper scattered her brain for ideas.

"We have to track him, see where he's going, what he's doing! We can't lose him this time, I won't let it happen. We've come too far to just give up now, so don't even think of it because this is serious, and—" Before Pepper could continue, Rhodey slapped his hand over Pepper's mouth.

"Pepper. No one said we're giving up. Relax." Rhodey explained. Pepper took a deep breath.

"I know, it's just, I don't want to lose him and I'm afraid that we'll lose and he'll get control of us too, and Iron Man, which is Tony, which is also the person I don't want to lose because I lo-" Pepper stopped herself. _That_ was a close one. She almost told Rhodey she loves Tony. And this was not the time for that.

"What?" Rhodey asked, confused.

"N-nothing, it's not important right now." Pepper said, blushing.

"No, you were about to say you love him, weren't you?" Rhodey asked, smirking. Pepper blushed more.

"Wha-I, no, me? I-I don't…puhh, no! Where'd you get that from?" Pepper denied. Rhodey gave her a 'that's not the truth' look. Pepper sighed.

"Ugh, fine. Yes. I was." Pepper admitted. Rhodey smiled.

"HA! I knew it! I so knew it! I was right!" Rhodey celebrated victory. He saw how worried and upset she was, and stopped immediately. They fell silent.

"Pepper, its _okay_ to admit you like someone." Rhodey comforted.

"Well, yeah, normally! First, i've never had a crush before, and second, he's _Tony Stark!_ A famous _genius _billionaire, _and _total **hottie **for girls, gee, I don't know…_**everywhere**_!" Pepper complained. Rhodey smiled.

"Pepper, you're overlooking it again. I know Tony, and you know Tony, and we both know that inside, he's just a normal teenage kid. Just like us." Rhodey explained.

"I know, you're right." Pepper sighed.

"Now come on, I have a plan." Rhodey started whispering a plan into Pepper's ear.

"Are you ready for your final task, minion?" Dark Shadow asked a fake-Tony. Fake-Tony saluted his master. Dark Shadow nodded, and Tony walked off into the streets of NYC. He walked to the ocean, Statue of Liberty in full view; clutching a laser gun hidden in his pocket.

"I'm in position." Fake Tony spoke into his earpiece.

"Good. Fire when ready." Dark Shadow ordered. Fake-Tony pulled the laser gun out of his pocket and aimed it at the statue.

**DUM DUM DUMMMM! Oh No! Will Tony fire? Or will he not? Will he ever gain control again? What will happen next? Will you review? **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey peeps! GOODNESS GRACIOUS I've gotten a lot of reviews! Wow! And so many people are saying how I've gotten so much better and how they love me and stuff! It's so touching (: for that, I will update sooner.**

Pepper ran up to see fake-Tony aiming a laser gun at the statue of liberty. Why would he shoot that? What good would that do besides damaging this fair country's symbol of freedom for all peoples?

_Oohhh……now I see. _Pepper thought to herself as she realized the seriousness of the situation.

"Tony, please don't shoot!" Pepper begged.

"Why should I listen to you? You're but a helpless little girl." Pepper frowned at the comment.

"Ok, first i am _not _little. And second, you may not listen to me, but I _know_ you'll want to listen to him." Pepper explained, pointing her thumb over her shoulder at a hovering war machine armor. Thanks to the temple of sacrifice, Rhodey had quite the skills handling the war machine armor. Fake-Tony, wearing no armor this time, pretended not to look scared. But it wasn't working. He was very intimidated by the large suit's…largeness and bulkiness. It must be really powerful…like it's designed for heavy warfare. Fake-Tony swallowed hard.

"Y-you're not _really _going to hurt me with that, a-are you?" Fake-Tony asked, voice shaking. Whatever courage had swallowed all his fear earlier, wasn't working now. He felt all the fear buried deep inside him come crawling to the surface, in an explosion of nervous shaking and cowering.

"I thought you were brave!" Pepper smirked and teased. Fake-Tony ignored Pepper's comment.

"Not if I don't have to." Rhodey answered. Fake-Tony took a deep breath, an effort to swallow fear from showing on the outside, and stood in silence, waiting to be taken care of.

"I'm going to take you back to your master. When you tell me where he is. And I'm going to demand that he give us the _real _Tony back." Rhodey explained.

"Fine. Don't say I warned you, though. The boss-man is going to be pretty mad at the both of us." Fake-Tony said.

"It's nothing war machine can't handle." Rhodey said. He picked up fake-Tony and flew into full sight of the city. Pepper rang in by headset.

"Where do I meet you guys?" Pepper asked. Rhodey looked down at the cowering fool.

"Well? Where?" Rhodey asked.

"I-it's in the shady parts of town. Folianger Street." **(A/N: for the record, I just totally made up that street name.) **

"OK, I'll see you there." Pepper said, racing to the other end of town. She knew this city like the back of her hand, even the shady parts. She'd gotten to know them when she was a child, and her mother had shown her all around the city. She'd even shown Pepper the bad parts, and told her to stay away. Back before she left, that is. She said she couldn't handle the knowledge that her husband could get hurt by such dangerous work with the FBI, and that her own daughter was being influenced; so she left. She loved the city so much she didn't want to leave, so she got an apartment in the city. Pepper never saw her anymore. She always claimed to be busy with work, and besides; Pepper didn't really want to see her much anyways. She was more like her dad; willing to take chances, likes danger and getting information, getting the dirt.

Pepper arrived at a run-down street and looked up at the rusted and spray-painted street sign. It read _Folainger Street_; except the last few letters were painted over by spray paint. But she could still tell what it was meant to say.

"Ok, I'm on the right street. What building do I go to?" Pepper asked.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, there's not much room for many big buildings on the street. There's only one. But it has a lot of doors; it used to be a factory, but they went bankrupt after a robbery ages ago. People just weren't interested in such merchandise that could be taken down so easily and not secured, so the building was abandoned and the company forgotten. There should be about eight doors on the first level. Go to the seventh one to your right, the one labeled '2945'. Each door had a special code, to identify different sections of the company. It was to make it easier to get to your stations in the morning." Fake-Tony explained, in his own voice more so now than using Tony's. His was a much higher pitch, but still masculine.

"Once you enter, you'll see us near the east wing. It's just across the furnis** (A/N: you know, the thing in the basement that's hot and has something to do with heating? Idk how to spell it!)** And the assembly line." The man in Tony's body explained. Pepper walked up to the seventh door on her right and brushed away the dust. There were to silver plaques on it; the first one labeled 'G.O.T.G. Industries'. The one below it read 'door 2945'.

"That must be the company name." Pepper whispered to herself. She pushed the door open to see numerous different run-down and broken factory machines. She spotted the furnis and the assembly line and walked past them to see a faint glow. She couldn't tell if that really was war machine, but she had one other way that always assured her when Tony was there. She stood extremely still and made no noises at all, and listened very closely for the sound of a metallic heartbeat. She heard it very faintly. Whenever she heard that noise, she was always sure Tony was near. Even if it technically wasn't him right at the moment, but someone controlling him.

"Ok, so what now?" Pepper asked, approaching them.

"Now we find Dark Shadow." Rhodey explained. Pepper nodded and began searching.

"Is there any chance you know where he is?" Rhodey asked, turning to the man inside Tony's body. He shook his head.

"He never tells me where he goes." Explained fake-Tony.

"Well. That stinks." Pepper said. The three continued searching.

Moments later, hope was wearing thin between the group. They searched the eerie and silent factory for a shadow, but instead heard faint laughter.

"Who's there?" Rhodey asked.

"Hey, maybe I should go in and you hide until I call you out. That way he's more likely to come out." Fake-Tony suggested.

"Not a bad idea. OK, sure." Rhodey answered. He went with Pepper and found a hiding spot.

"M-master? I have completed the deed. It is destroyed." Fake-Tony snuck a wink to his two new comrades in justice.

"Are you _sure _the deed is done? I don't sense panic." A voice asked.

"Yes sir. There is much panic." The man inside Tony swallowed nervously. Then a man resembling a shadow popped out in front of his meek and humble servant minion's face.

"ARE YOU QUESTIONING MY MIGHTY POWER?!" He boomed. The man in Tony swallowed again and put his hands up by his face in defense.

"N-no sir, not at all!..." He defended. "OK, well, maybe a little." He said to himself as he watched war machine and his courageous female friend, who he couldn't for the life of him remember her name, charged at Dark Shadow.

"Shadow, you either want a fight or you give us our friend back!" Rhodey warned. Dark Shadow braced himself for the impact.

"I'll take the fight." Dark Shadow laughed. There was laser firing, punching, kicking and whatever else goes on in a fight scene such as the one going on now. **(A/N: cuz, really. I suck at this part. Make it up yourself! Yayyy. As long as Rhodey wins and Tony goes back to normal.) **

Rhodey had Dark Shadow pinned down when Dark Shadow was finally starting to cave.

"I'll send you to jail now if you give me my friend back!" Rhodey offered one last time.

"Alright, fine! I'll stop!" Dark Shadow yelped. Rhodey got off the man and let him do his stuff. Pepper and Rhodey stood by his sides, in case he tried to pull a trick. Apparently he knew better than not to.

A blast of whatever was coming from Dark Shadow's palms hit Tony square in the forehead, and Tony fell to the ground. A spirit-looking thing came out of his chest, and the man inside Tony was now outside; his own person. He smiled as he looked down to see his own hands and feet, and body parts instead of some teen genius's. Tony groaned weakly on the ground. Pepper raced over to him and helped him up.

"Tony! Oh my goodness, Tony it's really you!" Pepper said, throwing herself on him for a huge hug.

"Tony? Who's Tony?"

**Dum Dum DummmM! Wow, that was kinda anti-climactic! Lol. I can't wait to see what happens next! Who else is with me? Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh I am a very happy, happy personnnnn! I just saw IM2 in the theaters and it was effing AWESOME! Totally worth the wait! DUDE I am so energetic now. Lol!**

Pepper was so shocked she thought she was one more line of 'where am I?' away from peeing her pants. What, mind control wasn't enough? Now amnesia? Pepper was angry.

"Tony, please tell me you're joking. Can you remember anything at all?" Pepper asked. Tony shook his head.

"Are you still a smarticle, or did you forget all of that too?" She asked.

"If by smarticle, you mean am I a genius, then…." Tony took a moment to think of all the stuff he knew. He had the schematics for a suit of armor in his head, and there wasn't one word of it he didn't understand.

"Yes. I'm still smart." He answered after a few moments of silence. They were sitting in Tony's room, Tony sitting on his bed while Rhodey paced his room and Pepper stood there and interrogated Tony. Pepper sighed. All she wanted was to hear the real, memory capable Tony Stark to walk up to her and assure her that it was really him. She wanted to hear his sweet, sweet voice once again, but now that she heard it…she wanted it to say to her that everything was going to be okay; it's all okay. Like he did in the Temple of Sacrifice, when she complained that it was all over; when it wasn't.

Pepper pushed the memory of that fateful day to the back of her mind and concentrated on the current situation.

"So you're saying that I'm Iron Man, and that I just escaped being controlled by some shadow freak?" Tony asked. Pepper nodded.

"That's right. And when you finally broke free, you didn't remember anything. _Not even me…_" Pepper muttered the last part to herself under her breath.

"Well, the way I see it then, is that the mind control took control of part of my brain, causing my memories to a spot in my brain where I can't access them." Tony explained.

"Oh. Well, there has to be some way to get those memories back to the place where you _can _access them?" Pepper asked. She was asking herself why Rhodey didn't bother listening in on the interesting conversation at hand.

"Probably just refresh my memory; bring them back by showing them to me." Tony explained.

"Oh, like, setting up a brief run-through of all the memories you've had?" Pepper asked. Tony nodded.

"Well, I met you at the beginning of the school year; Rhodey's going to have to run you through the years before I knew you, because I won't be able to do that. Rhodey? Are you listening?" Pepper said. Rhodey stood in one place.

"Huh? What?" He asked, signaling that the answer to Pepper's question was a no; he hadn't been listening.

"You need to refresh Tony's childhood memories for him. Run him through them again, and once we get up to when I knew him I'll do the rest." Pepper explained. Rhodey decided to go with his female friend's plan for now, but if it failed he'd be sure to have a plan B prepared. He wanted, more than anything in the world, to have his best friend back. And he was sure as heck Pepper wanted Tony back more than he did.

"Alright, well the best place to start is the beginning. Come with me." Rhodey started.

**Okay, here's my shot at something that has definitely never been done before. Flashback!**

_A woman sat at her kitchen table, spoonful of cereal in one hand, her other hand wrapped around her plump belly. She reflected on wrapping her mind around the fact that there was a growing child inside of her, feeding at her every input. Like her breakfast, for instance. These nutrients, they're all going to a living creature inside her right now. It amazed her. She finished the last of the food in her bowl, and put her spoon back in her bowl. She was just about into her ninth month along, and her precious baby was due by the end of the month. She took a few minutes to get up while wondering where her husband was. After she'd successfully stood, she grabbed her bowl and spoon and placed it in the sink. She'd get to washing it later. Right now, even if it was morning, her feet ached and her back as well. Carrying her pride and joy, that she hoped to be a girl, took a lot out of her._

"_Howard? Where are you? Don't tell me you're working downstairs again, Howard." She nagged. A groggy man, around the same age as the woman, shuffled his feet outside the bedroom. He smiled brightly to see his wife's bright green eyes sparkling like crystals. He admired her beauty. She had wild green eyes that sparkled like the morning sun and blonde hair that complimented the many features of her face. He, unlike his wife, was hoping for a boy to carry on the Stark name. _

"_Well, Howard Stark, it is time to get ready for work. You are a busy man." She said. He smiled._

"_Maria Stark, I thank you for being the highlight of my morning." He smiled and walked back into his room. He took a quick shower, brushed his hair and teeth, and dressed for the day. His wife, Maria Stark, was getting herself ready as well. She thought of getting ready more as getting her and her baby ready. She didn't have her own body anymore, she had two. And one of them was yet to arrive._

_By the time the end of the month came, Maria was in the kitchen washing dishes after a long day of not having anything to do. She had started her maternity leave last week, which was when she was expected to go into labor. But, she hadn't yet. That was about to change._

_As she washed, Howard walked into the household. He plopped his bag on the floor, hung up his coat, and gave his wife a welcome kiss. The wife felt a trickle down her leg, and looked down to see several more drops of the mysterious clear liquid falling to the floor along with it. Then she felt pain in her stomach. It was time._

_She was actually very good at withstanding high amounts of pain, something not a lot of people she knew could do. She'd been through broken bones without a single complaint or feeling of pain to her. _

"_Howard…" She winced. "It's time!" She gasped. Howard jumped up from his seat at his desk and rushed to immediate attention to his wife. He got her to the car and immediately drove to the hospital. He held out one hand to her that she could hold, but she denied it. Strong old gal, she was. He stroked her sweating head instead. He could tell that it was hurting her, but soon there would be a third Stark in the picture. A little bundle of joy that they had made. His greatest creation as an inventor. _

"_Hold on, Maria, we're almost there!" He comforted. He pulled into the emergency entrance of the hospital and rushed to her side of the car. He opened her door and helped her up. Help immediately rushed out of the hospital to assist. Maria, poor Maria, was placed in a wheelchair and rushed to a delivery room. Howard followed and helped her into her hospital bed. He stood by her bedside, watching her and helping her through the breathing exercises. He watched as the contractions started, and he watched as they told her to push, push, push. He watched as a little head, followed by a little body, came out. He smiled as the baby was handed to the proud mother. Howard looked into the little baby's eyes to see it had his own eyes; sparkling, ice crystal blue eyes. It had the beautiful facial features of its mother, and it looked like a blessing; it was a blessing._

"_Congratulations, it's a boy!" The doctor announced. Howard was proud of his little baby boy. He was beautiful; he was all he'd ever hoped for; and more. _

"_Oh, Howard! He's beautiful!" Maria gasped. Their little boy was handed back to the doctors to get cleaned off, and placed in his own little incubator. The mother was required, as well as the baby, to stay in the hospital for a few more days; one or two at the most. _

_Howard reflected. Today, June 5, 1994, he had a new baby son. He smiled. He and Maria watched their little boy fall fast asleep as his crying died down, as all newborns cry at birth. Maria smiled at the little child that she had brought into the world, and could only think of one name to give him._

"_Let's name him Anthony Edward. Our little Tony." She smiled. Her lower body, mainly her pelvis area, was hurting her like crazy, but she ignored the immense childbirth pain and observed her sleeping Anthony Edward Stark. No doubt, he'd always be called Tony. It was easier, and a normal nickname for Anthonys everywhere. _

**Did I do good? Flashback end!**

"So, how many memories does that bring back?" Rhodey asked. Tony was smiling dreamily.

"I remember my parents now. I remember that my mom….she isn't here anymore. How did she die?" Tony asked. Rhodey sighed.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, dude…" Rhodey started. Tony's face fell.

**Another unspoken idea. Flashback time again! (A/N: I **_**was**_** thinking that Tony's mom could've died during 9/11, but after I did the math, he would've been 9 when that happened. And he would've been in elementary school, which he's never been to! GRRRR for math murdering my idea….)**

_A young boy with messy brown hair and sparkling, crystal blue eyes ran happily around his father's office, awaiting the arrival of his dearest mother. Little did he know what was going to devastate his young life. _

_While he stood under the careful watch of his father's secretary, Amanda, he laughed and giggled to himself excitedly. He was dying to get outside, into that warm summer air. He wanted it to be September, so he could go to preschool and tell all of his new classmates everything he knew. He could show people other than Rhodey all of his inventions, like his universal remote that could really control anything, or the toaster that he'd made all by himself. Or he could teach them all the alphabet, and how to count. Over all, he wanted to show other kids his age what he could do. _

_He heard the doorknob start to jiggle, and rushed over to the door excitedly to find a devastation-stricken face of his dad walk in._

"_Daddy, where's mommy? What's wrong?" Young Tony asked, tugging on his father's pant leg. He could tell by his father's face that something had gone wrong. Howard picked up his young child and swallowed._

"_Mommy is…gone." He explained._

"_Gone?" Little Tony asked, horrified. He was smart enough to know what his father meant by 'gone.' Tony buried his face into his father's shirt and cried. Howard smoothed his hand over Tony's hair, also letting his own tears flow._

_Howard decided, then and there, that if his precious and dear Maria was gone now and forever, that he didn't want to lose his only memory of her; his dear son. He would teach Tony everything he needed to know._

**Flashback end. Wasn't that sad?**

Tony gulped.

"So that's why I've never been to school before…" He said quietly.

**End of this chapter, mostly because I have to go to bed. Oh well, review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Holy eff. I'm on a mission to find two people I knew from kindergarten, but one idk the last name of anymore and the other is a dead end on Facebook. This sucks! Totally stinks. Lol, anways!**

Tony was pretty much caught up to speed on his life as far as his father's death. Pepper, he knew, would fill in the rest because she was better at talking and explaining than Rhodey was.

Tony walked to school, with Rhodey, having remembered mostly everything about his life so far. Pepper was filling him in on their first meeting, her figuring out he's Iron Man-which, he did remember once he was reminded. It didn't take much description to get Tony to remember, since he was a genius and all-and was moving on, by now, to all their adventures together. She'd gotten to present-day as soon as they reached the school.

"I remember everything now!" Tony exclaimed. Soon enough, he was sure he'd return to his normal self in no time. He was already getting to be more and more like himself already.

"That's great!" Pepper exclaimed. She was beyond excited about it. For the past weeks, all she'd wanted was the real, real, real Tony back. She'd waited so long already, she was just glad he wasn't still evil. By now he was more sweet, genuine and smart; like usual.

"So, do we know anything about what happened to Dark Shadow?" Tony asked, for sure just as he was before.

"Not really. After you were set free, he sort of just…disappeared. But he looked too weak to return, in a long time." Rhodey explained.

"Well, if he ever does, we'll have to be more careful." Tony said. They walked to their homeroom and started the day.

Later, it was free period for Tony and Pepper. As usual, they were spending it on the roof. Tony was sitting on a ledge, scanning armor systems for any damage. There were quite a few dents and system failures, and he'd guessed he'd be working on it for the whole night.

Pepper was having a debate with herself, in her head, about what she truly felt right now. What did she really want to tell him? Perhaps what she wanted to say right now was that…

"Tony?" She said.

"Yeah?" He asked, without looking up.

"I…really missed you, is all." She said. Tony didn't respond, but instead looked up into Pepper's eyes. He felt extremely nervous now.

"I, uhhh…I did too," Tony responded, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, accompanied by a nervous chuckle. "Well, uhh, I didn't mean I missed, you know, me, but uhh…well, you know, right?" Tony blabbed. _Woah-what the heck was that? I've never had trouble talking to anyone the way I just did now!_ _We're friends…_

_Right? _He asked himself.

_Wouldn't it be nice to say 'girlfriend'? _Asked Tony's conscience. He shook the thought away.

Pepper giggled. "Yes, Tony. I get it." She smiled. Their smiles and laughter grew faint, and Tony stood from his seat. He stood in front of Pepper for a moment, and then sat down beside her; not taking his eyes off hers for a single moment. Pepper leaned over and put her head on his shoulder and hugged him tightly. Tony sat back, relaxed only on the outside; on the inside, he was panicking and confused.

What seemed like hours later to them, but was really a few minutes later, the bell rang signaling that it was time to get to class. They got up and walked back downstairs, into the building. They met Rhodey at his locker, and then proceeded to their class.

After the school day was done, Tony went to his lab while Rhodey went home to do his homework. Pepper, having nothing better to do, went with Tony to his lab.

Tony continued to work on his war machine armor, which had exploded in the previous weeks along with his whole lab; which he'd spent weeks endlessly repairing. Tony was still frazzled over the 'moment' on the roof. The thought was crowding his mind, but wouldn't get out. There was no way around this anymore, for him, no going out of it, no ignoring it. There was something more. He grabbed a detached gauntlet and started working on its repulsor. After a few minutes, he fixed it and started putting the gauntlet back on the war machine armor. He'd been working on it all week, but since it was so big and advanced it was taking the longest to repair.

Pepper sat and watched. For some reason, it didn't bore her and it didn't annoy her that he was focusing on working rather than his company; which happened more than often lately. Nonstop he'd been rebuilding his armors and his lab. He never had time for his friends, or her. But, the thing that surprised Pepper was that he was trying his best to _make _time for friends. Even if he was working all night, and in the morning before school, and immediately after school, then all night again. He let his friends come in the lab and talk to him and other stuff while he worked.

But for some reason, Pepper wasn't saying a single word. Tony noticed the strange and unusual silence that was present while he worked away at his armor. His precious armor, the thing he was spending his life slaving over. Then Pepper finally spoke.

"Is this all you're going to do from now on, Tony, is work?" She asked, suddenly annoyed. He looked up at her for a moment, and then looked down at his work again.

"Yes. Why?" Tony responded.

"Because even if you _are_ still going to school and stuff, you need to make more me-time—I, I mean you-time, to spend out with your friends. The world isn't going to end if you just stop working for a while." Pepper complained, being more like her normal self.

"Yeah, I know. But I really want to get this done before I make time for fun." Tony responded. Pepper shook her head.

"Pleeease? Just for today, at least?" Pepper pleaded. Tony sighed; he knew she was puppy-dog facing by now. He dared not see it. He mistakenly looked up and felt the urge to give in. He put down his welding tools and walked over to her, where she was sitting on a ledge a few feet off the ground. He sighed.

"Fine. I give." He said, in defeat. Pepper squealed loudly, but didn't move from her seat as she thought of something they could do. An awkward silence fell over them, and they were suddenly speechless. Tony found himself staring deep into Pepper's eyes, and Pepper to his. That moment, for him, felt so much like he only had to move a few inches closer and he'd be happier than ever. His conscience kept egging him on to do it, just fill the space between them, and after a few minutes of silent staring, he finally gave in to his conscience and filled the very few inches between himself and her in a much desired, long awaited kiss.

Moments later, they parted and smiled. Tony held out his hand, Pepper grabbed it, and they walked out of the lab and into the warm spring day.

They lived…well, cliché; happily ever after.

**The end!**

**Aww, cute story! Lol, may not be very long but o well. IT was a wonderful ending, no? Review!**


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